Power forward rankings

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When it comes to power forwards, it is sort of feeling like old times. That’s because the guy who is likely to go down as the best ever at the position—for now, at least—is back on top, despite having been in the NBA for parts of three decades.

Yes, Tim Duncan is the leader of the 4s, and it is not because the field is weak. The current crop of top power forwards is a good mix of veterans and youth, and they shake out this way:

Duncan is 37, yet still managed to have his best season since 2010, leading the Spurs to the NBA Finals. He was, as usual, excellent on the defensive end and efficient offensively. He played 30.1 minutes per game, but still posted 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds, shooting 50.2 percent from the field.

Duncan is a different player than he was in his heyday, moving his game out past the free-throw line—36 percent of his shots came from beyond 16 feet last season, as opposed to 12 percent a decade ago. But the move to a more midrange game has helped his production here at the end of his career.

Just about every shot Aldridge takes is a high-percentage shot, as he is arguably the best all-around shooting big men in the league. But the problem he has encountered is rookie point guard Damian Lillard, whose score-first, attack-the-basket style has robbed Aldridge of some of the easy baskets near the rim big men typically get.

Only 21.5 percent of Aldridge’s attempts came at the rim last year, down from 28.1 percent the previous year and 33.9 percent in 2010-11. His shooting percentage (48.4 percent) was still good, but Lillard would do well to start finding his big man for easy attempts.

Much has been made of the holes that still exist in Griffin’s game, and with good reason—as much as he deserves such a high spot on the list of power forwards, he could be a better player and has not shown significant improvement from his rookie year.

He has gotten better as a passer, which was already a strength, and as a defender, which was not. But the big thing with Griffin is developing a midrange jumper that can make defenses pay for leaving him open above the free-throw line. He shot 34.0 percent from beyond 16 feet last year, down from 37.1 percent the year before. Griffin is an explosive athlete, but three years in, he still has untapped potential.

Nowitzki is 35, and it could be that the wear-and-tear of 15 NBA seasons is catching up with him. Or, it could be that he was struggling with injuries last year (he missed 29 games) and will bounce back with no problem this year once he gets fully healthy.

But Nowitzki has drifted back to the perimeter in the last two years, averaging more than 3.0 3-pointers and, last season, got the free-throw line at the lowest rate of his career. Fortunately for the Mavs, Nowitzki has remained an excellent 3-point shooter, but having their star power forward playing away from the basket is something that has, historically, been a problem for the Mavericks.

Love’s wrist injury pretty much wiped out last season, as his inability to move his hand properly led to him shooting just 35.2 percent from the floor and 21.7 percent from the 3-point line.

When healthy—and Love says he is now—he is the most productive power forward in the NBA, but he will have to show that he is 100 percent once the season gets rolling. This is Love’s fifth season and he has yet to play in a postseason game, which makes this a big year for both him and the Timberwolves.

The Pacers’ two young anchors—Paul George and Roy Hibbert—get most of the credit for the team’s drive to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, but don’t lose sight of just how well West played now that he is fully recovered from the knee surgery he underwent two years ago.

Where most of the Pacers started the year in a terrible shooting slump, West did not, keeping the team afloat with his scoring and efficiency. His teammates caught up eventually, but West deserves credit for his consistency.

Doc Rivers had become a master of getting the most out of Garnett’s 37-year-old body, and now it will be up to Jason Kidd to do the same. Garnett averaged 29.7 minutes last year, the fewest since he was a rookie, but when he was in the game, he was still an effective weapon on both ends of the floor.

The beauty of Garnett’s style is that he shoots incredibly well from short midrange and long midrange—from 10-to-16 feet last year, he made 48.2 percent of his shots, and made 46.9 percent from 16 feet to the 3-point line. That will keep an old guy fresh.

Davis missed 18 games with a variety of injuries, primarily to his ankle, and that cost him some of the growth he would have undergone in his rookie year. He averaged just 28.8 minutes, and his numbers will balloon once he starts playing 35-plus minutes per game. He should, too, because defensively, Davis is as good as was advertised when he came out of Kentucky.

What was most pleasantly surprising was that Davis wasn’t as offensively clueless as many thought he would be. He has plenty of room for improvement, but he has the makings of a decent interior game and is working on a perimeter jumper. Which he needs: He shot just 26.0 percent from 16 feet and beyond last year.

Last year, Randolph appeared to still be carrying the effects of the knee surgery he had in 2012, as his scoring remained uncharacteristically low and his shooting dipped to 46.0 percent. The main culprit was his mediocre percentage on shots at the rim, where he made only 58.5 percent.

Randolph is 32, and it is entirely possible that he just needed a full year in order to come back from the knee injury—he could be back to his usual 20-point, 10-rebound self this year. But he could simply be on the downside of his career.

Monroe has established himself as one of the better young big men in the league, and he has the tools to be an outstanding high-post forward. He sees the floor well and is an excellent playmaker, but he needs to back up that ability with a better midrange jumper—he made only 31.7 percent from 16 feet out.

And with the Pistons hoping to build a frontcourt of Monroe and interior beast Andre Drummond, Monroe will need to operate out of the high post efficiently. The potential is there, and he needs to cash it in.

Lee is an awful defensive player. That’s no secret, so let’s just get it out there now. He is particularly bad trying to defend the pick-and-roll, and that is a serious weakness in the Warriors’ D. But Lee is a tremendous offensive player and rebounder.

He works well in the post, with enough of a variety of moves to keep defenders honest and enough athleticism to finish at the rim. He has good instincts for cutting to the basket, and is good as the screen-setter in the pick-and-roll. The defense is a problem, but his offense outweighs that problem.

A little less mobile as he ages, Gasol was more effective as a center last year, but the Lakers went out and signed Chris Kaman. That means Gasol will be a power forward again, and it could mean he continues to struggle to find the right role with Mike D’Antoni’s offense.

Kaman is probably a better fit than Dwight Howard for Gasol, though, because Gasol thrives taking the ball to the basket from the high post, which was not an option last year. That pushed his game to the perimeter, and led to Gasol shooting 46.0 percent—a career worst, and only the second time he has come in under 50 percent. D’Antoni must figure out a better way to deploy Gasol.

Ibaka has never been a bad offensive player. He always stayed within himself and accepted his role as one of the Thunder’s last offensive options. But with James Harden gone, Ibaka helped pick up the slack, increasing his attempts to 9.7 per game and making 57.3 percent of them. He even flashed a 3-pointer, taking 57 on the year (he had taken six in his first three seasons) and making 35.1 percent.

Ibaka led the league in blocked shots (3.0 per game), but significantly, he gambled much less and became a more reliable defender, cutting his foul rate for the fourth straight year. Ibaka's only downfall came when he struggled in the postseason, a problem that should be rectified this year.

Millsap is not great at doing any one particular thing, but he does everything pretty well. He is strong in the post, has a good midrange game and uses his long arms to rebound despite being just 6-8.

He shot 49.0 percent from the field last year, which is a career low, and he was being phased out by the Jazz, who have been looking to Derrick Favors as their power forward of the future. In Atlanta, playing alongside Al Horford, expect Millsap to bump up his numbers.

Remove the very inflated contract he got from the Bulls in 2010, and Boozer remains a pretty good power forward—he is still a capable scorer and a midrange shooter, and a reliable pick-and-roll player.

He is weak defensively, of course, but was able to stay on the floor more last season because backup Taj Gibson struggled. Boozer does stand to benefit from playing with Derrick Rose again this year.